Paraná, state in southern Brazil, is the national leader in poultry production, representing 25% of slaughtering in the country. The state is ahead of Santa Catarina (18%), Rio Grande do Sul (17%) and São Paulo (16%).
The information is in the research on livestock, milk, eggs, leather and stocks, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), which was released last week.
In the first quarter of 2006, there were 1.014 billion chickens slaughtered in the state, which meant an increase by 12.21% over the first quarter in 2005 and of 1.17% over the fourth quarter of the same year. The period was considered one of the best in the sector.
In the comparison of the first three months of 2006 with the same period last year, the sector had an increase in 8.42% in revenues with exports to the Arab market.
According to the Union and Association of Slaughterhouses and Poultry Producers of Paraná (Sindiavipar), sales increased from US$ 69.3 million to US$ 75.1 million.
The quantity exported, however, dropped 10.29% in the period, going from 74,000 tons to 66,400. The main reason for the reduction, according to analysts, was the avian influenza, which reduced world demand for the product.
The countries from the region that consume poultry from Paraná are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Comoro, Djibouti, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman and Qatar.
The IBGE study revealed that the state of Paraná also has an important participation in the production of chicken eggs, occupying the third position.
In the first quarter of the year, the segment’s expansion in the state was of 5.47%. National production reached 510.855 million dozens. Ahead of Paraná were São Paulo, responsible for 34% of national production and Minas Gerais, with 13%.
Omar Nasser works for Fiep (Federation of Industries of the State of Paraná).
Anba